A PARK ranger noticed small bits of blood on the fingers, face and trousers of a teenager who told him he “got a bit of a hiding” in the woods, a murder trial has heard.

Park Ranger Norman Macken told the Central Criminal Court he spoke to the boy, who he said looked “about 16”, after his father knocked on the ranger station to complain his son had been assaulted.

Earlier, a doctor who examined one of the boys accused of murdering Ana Kriegel told the court he found the boy had suffered “soft tissue injuries consistent with blunt force trauma”,

In his evidence, Park Ranger Norman Macken said he was in the ranger station, some time after 6pm on May 14, 2018, when a man started banging on it.

The man was “very irate” he said, and told him his son had been “jumped” in the woods by a “couple of big fellas”.

Mr Macken asked the man if he had contacted gardai and he said he’d been trying but couldn’t get them.

Mr Macken rang the garda station and when the call connected he handed it to the man.

The man’s car was parked near the ranger station. Mr Macken said he could see a shadow in it and presumed it was the son, so he walked over to the car. He was “just being nosy” and wanted to see if the boy needed help.

Asked by prosecutor Brendan Grehan SC what he saw, Mr Macken said he saw a young lad wearing a white t-shirt.

His hair was “all over the place” and he “looked like he was in a fight”.

Mr Macken said he asked the boy what had happened and if he was ok.

The boy put his hand to his eyes and told him he “just got a bit of a hiding in the woods”.

Mr Macken said the boy did not seem to want to engage with him.

His hands were over his knees and they were shaking, the court heard.

Mr Macken said he didn’t look too closely but he noticed “small bits of blood” on the boy’s fingers. His trousers also had a little bit of blood and there were “little bits” on his face .

Asked about the boy’s demeanour, Mr Macken said the youth seemed “like a rabbit caught in headlights”.

Earlier, a doctor who examined one of the boys accused of murdering Ana Kriegel found he had suffered “soft tissue injuries consistent with blunt force trauma”.

The GP examined Boy A after his mother brought him to his clinic on May 16, 2018 as he had injuries which he had sustained in an alleged assault two days earlier.

The GP gave evidence before the Central Criminal Court that Boy A told him he had been assaulted in a random attack about 5.30pm on May 14.

Boy A told the doctor he was grabbed from behind and taken to the ground, where he was kicked and punched by two young men.

The GP said he was told the assault was brief and Boy A was able to get to his feet and fight one of the men off and the other ran away when he saw what was happening.

The doctor said Boy A informed him he had been kicked in the right knee, lower back and chest.

The GP told the Central Criminal Court he conducted a brief examination, and found bruising and tenderness on the lower part of Boy A’s back as well as swelling to his right knee. The teenager also had pain in his right wrist.

The doctor said Boy A had suffered soft tissue injuries consistent with blunt force trauma. Several parts of his body had evidence of trauma, including the knee, chest and wrist.

The youths, aged 13 at the time, have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Ana (14) at Glenwood House, Laraghcon, Clonee Road in Lucan on May 14 last year.

One of the boys, Boy A, has also denied a charge of aggravated sexual assault.

Ana’s naked body was found by gardai at the disused farmhouse three days after she was reported missing. She was last seen leaving her home with Boy B at 5pm on the day she disappeared.

It is the prosecution’s case that Boy B “lured” Ana to the derelict farmhouse and then watched as the other boy sexually assaulted and murdered her.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of eight men and four women.

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